


Date Night: Next Steps Edition

by deadgranger



Series: Date Nights [1]
Category: The Guy Who Didn't Like Musicals - Team StarKid
Genre: Community: HPFT, Established Relationship, F/M, Fluff, Marriage Proposal, so much fluff guys
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-05-16
Updated: 2019-05-16
Packaged: 2020-03-06 07:00:04
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,589
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18846001
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/deadgranger/pseuds/deadgranger
Summary: Paul takes Emma out for a nice dinner, with a surprise or two planned.





	Date Night: Next Steps Edition

“Hey, Em, what time do you get off work on Saturday night?” Paul asked, sipping his black coffee at the kitchen table while she made herself breakfast. 

“Uh, four-thirty, I think. Why?” Emma answered, joining Paul at the table. 

Paul fiddled with his mug. “Oh, uh, I just wanted to see if you’d maybe want to go out for dinner?” 

Emma’s forehead scrunched, trying to figure out why he was asking in such a weird way. “I mean, yeah that’d be nice, I guess. Where were you thinking?” 

He took another sip of coffee. “That nice Italian place that just opened up last month has been getting great reviews, and Bill took Alice one night and he said it was her favorite meal out in a while with him, which is saying something,” he rambled. 

Emma raised an eyebrow at him, seeing through his bullshit. “Paul, if you want to take me out on a date you can just say so, I’m not going to say no to that, you dork.” 

He blushed. “Okay, well, I didn’t want to make any assumptions since I know you’re not into that romantic shit.” 

“We  _ have _ been dating for like, what, five years now? So you know it’s not unexpected to be going out for dinner. Hell, I’m honestly surprised no one’s asked us yet when we’re planning on getting married. But anyway, you’re overthinking my emotional reaction,” Emma chuckled, resting her hand on top of his. 

“Okay, so you’re good with going to Fibrizio’s then?” Paul asked, trying to slow his heartbeat after she mentioned marriage. 

“Yep, but can we do like, seven, so I can maybe take a nap before we go? I just know that ten-hour shift will make me fall asleep during dinner otherwise,” Emma replied nonchalantly. 

“Okay, that’ll work. I’ll make the reservations sometime today then,” he said. 

Emma nodded and ate the last bite of her toast and got up to put her plate in the dishwasher. Paul had another bite of his bagel, wiping the crumbs from his face with a napkin. 

“Great, sounds good. See you tonight,” she pecked him on the lips. “Bye, love you!” 

“Love you too, have a good shift,” he said as she put her jacket on and left the apartment for work. 

Paul finished his breakfast and headed out to work himself a half hour later, having to send some personal emails and messages that he didn’t want Ted or Bill looking at during work. He already got enough shit from Bill about not having taken the next step with her yet, and Charlotte would just nose her way in if Emma was mentioned at all. All of his coworkers were far too invested in his relationship with Emma, and he didn’t know how to feel about it, if he was being honest with himself. 

When Paul got to CCRP Technical, he greeted Melissa, having found a better appreciation for her and her job recently after he found out she was also taking night classes at the community college. She bonded instantly with Emma over some of their professors, and it made Paul happy to see Emma making friends, even if it was with one of his coworkers. As he sat down in his cubicle, his pocket vibrated. Paul quickly pulled out his phone to open the message up. He read it and broke into a smile, sending back a short reply before locking the screen and putting his phone away. 

The first few hours of work passed quickly, as he dove deep into some spreadsheet stock analysis for Mr. Davidson that he wanted by tomorrow before noon. He almost forgot about lunch until the aroma of whatever Charlotte had heated up in the microwave wafted through the office and brought him out of his focus. Paul decided to grab lunch from the sandwich shop down the block so he could make the dinner reservations without everyone else listening in. He got a basic sub sandwich with chips and sat down at one of the tables outside. Before eating his food, he pulled out his phone to make the dinner reservation. The phone call went smoother than he’d expected it to, but it took some weight off his chest to have that done. 

Paul ate his food and returned to work, with a goal of finishing that spreadsheet today so he could work on a side project that had been waylaid for the past couple of weeks. At two-thirty, Bill rolled his chair over to Paul’s cubicle. 

“Hey Paul, are you going for a coffee run soon?” Bill asked. 

“Oh, uh, probably not today, I’m actually trying to get this project done, sorry,” Paul responded, giving Bill an apologetic look. 

“That’s cool, it’s probably good so I stop spending so much money on coffee anyway,” Bill mused, rolling back to his own cubicle. 

Paul decided to put some music on to stay focused and not get distracted by his coworkers. Three hours went by, and he felt he was finished with the spreadsheet part of the analysis, and opened up a document to write up the results for Mr. Davidson to read. Five o’clock came sooner than he expected, but he was more than happy to hand over the results to Melissa on his way out, excited to be done with a project early so he could start his other project tomorrow. The drive home was quick, even with all of the rush hour traffic. 

He unlocked the apartment door and headed straight for his and Emma’s bedroom, shedding his suit to change into comfier clothes. Seeing the hamper was dangerously full, Paul took it out of the closet and started a load of laundry. Paul went back to the closet and pulled a shoebox down from the top shelf, out of Emma’s reach. Opening the shoebox, he dug around in the odds and ends of fabric bits until he found what he was looking for. The box was still in there, and so were its contents. If Emma hadn’t snooped around and found it yet, then he was positive she wouldn’t figure it out by Saturday. 

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

The rest of the work week passed ridiculously fast, and Paul’s nerves increased with each passing day. It was also incredibly hard for him to hide his nerves around Emma because of her ability to see through his bullshit so easily. Thankfully Saturday meant he got to sleep in while she had to get up early for her six am shift. He gave her a sleepy kiss goodbye in the early morning dark and rolled back over, going back to sleep for another two hours before he couldn’t sleep anymore. 

Paul dragged himself out of bed and got in the shower, letting the hot water relax his muscles. By the time he was ready to go for the day, he had four new messages waiting for him on his phone, one of which was from Emma to say she’d gotten to work just fine. The other three were of varying importance. He answered two of them and left the third alone while he ate breakfast and drank a cup of coffee. 

He was so nervous and jumpy all day that he ended up deep cleaning the apartment and reorganized the dishware in the kitchen to a more optimal arrangement. Paul also debated picking up some flowers but decided that would be too much and definitely make Emma suspicious. At four p.m. Paul picked out one of his non-work suits to wear to dinner. It was a deep navy blue color, slim-fitting, and was something Emma had actually picked out for him earlier that year when she complained that all he work was shades of gray, white, and black for work. She definitely pulled inspiration from Queer Eye on Netflix, but he didn’t care because he agreed with her choices one hundred percent. He even chose on one of the patterned shirts they’d bought a few months ago and decided against a tie, because then it would have felt far too much like work. 

The clock in the kitchen chimed half past four, and Paul’s stomach dropped out. He checked his phone again, texting and playing games while he waited for Emma to get home from the coffee shop. She opened the door just before five looking particularly exhausted. 

“Hey, Em,” Paul stood and hugged her tightly. 

“Hey, Paul,” Emma’s muffled reply came from his chest. She wrapped her arms around his waist. 

She leaned back and tilted her chin up, waiting for him to get the hint. He leaned down and kissed her softly. They broke apart and Emma took off her jacket and shoes, putting them away in the front closet. She walked down the hall to their bedroom, with Paul following behind.

“Okay, it is time for me to nap!” she exclaimed. “Wake me up in thirty minutes, okay Paul? I need to shower before we go to dinner and since it’s a fancy place I gotta put makeup on and shit so I look like a human being.” 

“You always--I mean, I’ll wake you up in a half hour,” Paul said, cutting himself off at her pointed look. 

“Thank you,” she said, leaving the door open just a crack while she climbed into bed and passed out, not even under the covers. 

He kissed her lightly on the forehead before going out to the living room to read more of the novel he’d started earlier that week. Thirty minutes passed by quickly, and Paul gently shook Emma’s shoulder to wake her up. 

“Em, time to get up,” he said softly. 

“Urgh, I don’t want to though,” she mumbled into the pillow. “Come ‘ere, Paul.” 

Paul acquiesced, letting her tug him down onto the bed. She rested a hand on his cheek, brushing her thumb along his cheekbone. Her brown eyes searched his blue ones. Emma pulled his face closer to hers and kissed him. He broke the kiss when her hand started inching down his chest, grabbing her hand to stop its progress. 

“Okay, you need to shower or we won’t make it to our reservation on time,” Paul said, rolling off the bed and holding out a hand to her. 

“Ugh, fine, Paul. You’re no fun,” she pouted, taking his proffered hand and letting him lift her out of the bed. 

“Sorry I’m just trying to keep you on schedule,” he replied. 

Emma smiled at him as she took her bathrobe off its hook. “Yeah, yeah, whatever. You better be dressed then when I’m done mister scheduler.” 

“Okay, Em,” Paul chuckled. 

She shot him a grin before closing the bathroom door. As soon as he heard the water running, Paul changed into the outfit he’d picked out earlier and grabbed the box from the top shelf in the closet as quickly as possible, tucking it into the inside pocket of his suit jacket. He finished tying his shoe as the door to the bathroom opened and Emma walked out in her robe. 

“You’re wearing that?” she asked. 

“What’s wrong with this?” he said reproachfully, looking down at his clothes. “You’re the one who picked this out in the first place.” 

“I know I did,” Emma smirked and stepped over to him. “It’s super sexy, not gonna lie.”

Paul blushed beet red as she stood on her tiptoes and linked her arms around his neck, bringing their faces closer together. He automatically put his hands on her waist to stabilize her. 

“Uh, okay, thanks,” he stumbled over his words, not sure how to respond to that statement, even after so many years of dating and living together. 

She giggled and stretched even more to kiss him, whining when she still couldn’t reach his face. 

“Come  _ on _ Paul, I’m trying to kiss you!” she exclaimed. 

“Oh, sorry,” Paul said, leaning down to close the gap and kissing her softly. 

Emma tried to deepen the kiss but her height worked against her and Paul just pulled away, kissing her lightly on the nose instead. 

“Okay enough of that, you still have to get ready,” he said, smiling down at her. 

“Ugh, you’re no fun,” Emma joked, releasing her hold on his neck and sliding her hands down his chest. “But now that I know what you’re wearing I guess I can try not to clash with you. Fine, I’ll be ready in thirty minutes.” 

Paul smiled and went out to the living room, picking his novel back up. He knew better than to interrupt Emma when she was putting on makeup, as he’d learned the hard way early on in their relationship. She required complete silence so she could concentrate on getting it right. 

Eventually Paul heard her heels clicking on the hardwood of the hallway floor. He set the bookmark in his novel before raising his gaze to look at Emma, standing in the entrance to the living room. Paul’s mouth nearly dropped open in awe. She had gone for a form-fitting black dress that fell to her knees with a criss-cross pattern on the top, matched with the only pair of heels she owned. They were only two inches tall but she had refused to get taller shoes when she bought them, preferring to own up to her shortness. 

“Holy shit, Em, you look great,” he said, admiration clear in his voice. 

Emma tucked a loose curl behind her ear and blushed. “Thanks, Paul.” 

He stood and buttoned his suit jacket closed. “Ready to go then?” 

“Ready,” she replied, getting her purse from the front closet while he grabbed his keys from the bowl on the counter. 

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Dinner at Fibrizio’s was the most nerve-wracking two hours of Paul’s life up to that point, but he felt like he was hiding it well. Emma loved the bread so much at the beginning she only regretted not saving some of it to eat with her pasta. They each had a glass (or two, in Emma’s case) of white wine with their meal, and Paul added it to their list of good wines that he kept in a Note on his phone. 

Emma liked to pretend she wasn’t a lightweight, but by the time they’d paid the check and were walking out of the restaurant, she’d snaked her arm around Paul’s waist and was leaning heavily into him. Paul led them to a nearby park with sculptures and little seating areas, his nerves absolutely shot now. He’d checked his messages when he went to the bathroom in the middle of dinner, and now he just had to wait and see how it all played out. 

Tucked away in a corner of the park was a tiny gazebo that was covered in white flowers and had lights strung throughout it. The twinkling lights caught Emma’s eye, and she squeezed Paul’s side to get his attention. 

“Paul, babe, let’s go sit in that gazebo, it looks so pretty,” Emma said, tugging him towards it. 

“Okay, Em, I’m coming, you don’t have to drag me along with you,” Paul said, chuckling. 

They sat down on the bench that faced out towards the small pond on the far side of the gazebo. Paul wrapped his arm around Emma’s shoulders, and she leaned into him, pressing up against him. 

“Thank you for such a wonderful date night, Paul,” she murmured. 

“Thank  _ you _ for being such a wonderful date,” Paul mimicked, kissing the top of her head and making her giggle. 

She rested a hand on his chest, looking at the pair of mallard ducks floating in the pond as the sun started going down, casting everything in a golden hue. 

Paul cleared his throat. “Hey, Em? I, uh, wanted to talk to you about something.” 

She raised her head and leaned out of his embrace so she could look in his eyes. “Okay, go for it.” 

He gave her a soft smile and turned on the bench to better face her before continuing. “I know you’re not into romantic shit so I’ll try to keep this short. We’ve been dating for five years now, and living together for three of those years. Meeting you at Beanies that first time when I came in for a cup of coffee was definitely the highlight of my life at that point.” 

Emma’s eyebrows were crinkled and mouth parted slightly, like she was trying to decipher something. Paul took her hands in his own to bring her attention back around. 

“What I’m trying to say is that having you here with me has allowed me to express so much joy and passion that I didn’t know I had in me, let alone be able to share with another person. You and I have both grown so much these last few years, both as individuals and together, and I don’t want that to stop.” 

“So, Emma Perkins, I have a question for you,” Paul said, his heartbeat accelerating to a dangerous level as he reached into his suit jacket pocket. 

Grasping the box in his hand, he slid it out of his jacket slowly, and knelt on the floor of the gazebo. Emma’s hand flew up to cover her mouth, tears pricking at the corners of her eyes. 

Paul opened the box to show a silver ring set with a small, round fire opal. “Emma Perkins, will you marry me?” 

Emma burst into tears, nodding her head vigorously. “Yes, Paul, god, yes!” 

She shakily held out her left hand and Paul slid the ring onto her fourth finger, kissing her hand delicately before allowing himself to be tackled by Emma who pressed her face into his immediately. He wrapped his arms around her waist tightly and rose, lifting her up into the air. She kissed him fiercely, wrapping her arms around his neck and running her fingers through his hair. They broke apart, and Paul set her back down firmly on the ground. Emma pulled him down by the collar for another kiss, though this one was less aggressive and much more romantic. 

Paul felt his phone vibrate in his pocket, and he let go of Emma to look at her. “Okay so, that may not be the only surprise I have for you tonight.” 

Emma looked positively confused, and it wasn’t until she saw two people walk towards them and enter her field of vision that she lit up with even more joy. 

“Mom? Dad? What are you guys doing here?” Emma asked, hugging each of them tightly. 

“You can thank Paul for that,” Neal, her father, said, smiling widely. 

She turned around to look at Paul, who simply shrugged at her, grinning. 

“Oh, you’re sneaky, you are, Paul! We’ll talk about this later,  _ fiancé _ ,” she said, winking at him before turning back to her parents. “How the hell did you three manage to keep this a secret? Also, how did you know my ring size, Paul?” 

“You can thank me for that, dear,” her mother, Katherine, said, reaching for Emma’s hand. “I still had some of your old jewelry from before and I figured you hadn’t changed much and lent one to him. I also helped him decide on the stone.” 

“And uh, we’d talked about gems and stones some other time with Ted and Charlotte, Em, so I just thought back to that conversation. You’d mentioned multiple times how much you liked opals, so I figured that’d be the best,” Paul further explained. 

“We’re so proud of you, Emma. You’ve found a great guy here in Paul, and we know Jane would think so too,” Neal chimed in, and Emma felt the waterworks starting back up. 

Emma quickly wiped at her eyes again, not wanting to cry again. “I love you guys so much,” she said, hugging her parents again. 

“We love you too, Emma. Now go on, celebrate! God knows we’ve got plenty of time to celebrate with you later,” Katherine said, giving her daughter a bright smile. 

“Thanks, mom,” Emma said. 

“Thank you, Neal and Katherine, for coming out tonight, I really appreciate it, and I know Emma does too,” Paul said sincerely, giving each of them a brief hug. 

“Of course, Paul, it’s not everyday our daughter gets engaged,” Neal chuckled, clapping Paul on the shoulder.

“Good bye, Emma, we’ll see you next week,” Katherine said, linking hands with her husband as they turned and left, walking slowly down the path and off into the darkness. 

When they were out of sight, Emma sauntered up to Paul and linked her hands with his, holding them up. “You heard my mom, let’s go celebrate,” she said sultrily, pressing herself up against him and begging for a kiss. 

“Yes, ma’am,” Paul replied, giving her a chaste kiss. 

As soon as they were home and her heels were off, Emma focused her attention entirely on Paul. Clothes were thrown about the apartment as she worked to show him just how much she loved him all through the night and into the early morning. 

~*~*~*~*~*~

Waking up to sunlight streaming in from the blinds, Emma went to rub the sleep from her eyes but stopped when a glimmering caught her attention. Opening her eyes wider, she saw the ring on her left hand and just past her ring was her fiancé, looking at her with the stupidest, dopey grin on his face. Needless to say they didn’t leave the room for another few hours after that. 

She could get used to being engaged. In fact, she definitely already was. 

**Author's Note:**

> A/N: Well guys, someone suggested this so here it is! Also I just kind of made up first names for Emma's parents tbh so they may or may not be changed later if I don't like them and we see them again in another fic. :P Please let me know what you think!! Also, if you have any ideas you'd want me to take a crack at I'd happily take suggestions. :) 
> 
> ~Madi


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